Among the evidences for its prohibition upon a person in a state of major ritual impurity is the verse, “O you who believe, do not approach the prayer while you are intoxicated until you understand what you say, nor while you are in a state of major impurity—unless you are merely passing through—until you have bathed” (Q 4:43). In other words: do not enter the mosque while you are in major impurity except when simply walking through it. If staying in the mosque is forbidden to him, then being barred from performing ṭawāf is even more obvious.
Accordingly, these acts are unlawful for anyone who is ritually impure, whether the impurity is major or minor.
The matters that are forbidden exclusively to someone in major impurity are:
- Reciting the Quran. This is based on the hadith of ʿAlī (d. — AH): “Nothing kept the Prophet ﷺ from reciting the Quran except major impurity,” related by al-Tirmidhī and others. Al-Tirmidhī’s wording is, “He would teach us the Quran as long as he was not in major impurity.” This proves that Quranic recitation is unlawful for the junub; the same ruling applies to a menstruating or postpartum woman. Some scholars, however—among them Shaykh al-Islām—granted a menstruating woman permission to recite the Quran if she fears forgetting it.
There is no harm in an impure person uttering phrases that coincide with Quranic wording, provided he does not intend a formal recitation but only remembrance—such as saying, “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,” or “All praise is for Allah, Lord….”